To Train a Servant
by FanOfRandomThings
Summary: Merlin has just recently become the prince's servant, and he's not completely sure how the whole thing works. When Arthur, Merlin, and a group of knights go on a patrol, two younger knights take it upon themselves to train' Merlin, and when their plan goes awry, Merlin finds himself captive of some rather unseemly people. Merlin!whump No slash
1. Introduction

**AN:** _So this is one of those 'mean noble stories', sort of, but it'll have its own twists and turns :). Hope you enjoy._

 _The Merlin!whump will begin next chapter._

 _Written with AnnaDavenport_

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"Good morning!"

Light came rushing into the prince's room, and he groaned loudly. Was it really morning already?

"It's morning, bright and early, time to get up! Should I get your breakfast? Should I prepare something? You'd better get up or the king might be pretty mad. Remember he asked you to go on the patrol to the border early this morning? You probably don't want to make the knights wait for you and I already saw one of them awake and the others are probably already awake, so you should get up pretty soon. It's not like I'm late waking you up or anything, the sun is just really bright today. So, you going to get up so the king doesn't get mad at us and hopefully you because you're the one just sitting there staring at me rather than getting up and-"

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur snapped from the bed, where he had been sleeping peacefully until Merlin had burst in. "What time is it?"

"Oh, um, I don't know exactly but the sun has been up for a while and I think it might be later than I usually wake you up but I can't be sure and the only reason I might be later is because Gaius had to go to the lower town early this morning so he didn't wake me up so I slept in a bit, but only a bit! So… It might be around… I don't know… Ten o'clock?"

"Ten?" Arthur yelped, sitting up suddenly. "Merlin you idiot, I am supposed to be leaving in half and hour! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"Well, you have a half hour, and it's getting to be less the longer you sit there…" Merlin trailed off. "Sorry?"

Arthur groaned and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "You can't do anything right can you?" He moaned.

"Why would my father make you my servant? Couldn't he just make you one of the knights servants? That would be reward enough." Arthur mumbled as he stood up. "Get me some clothes to change into as soon as I am done eating, I assume you have brought my breakfast up?"

"Uh, no I'll go get that. I thought I should wake you up first, then get your breakfast because that way you have more time to do things before you have to leave and eat your breakfast and everything. Should I go get that now?" Merlin asked with a gulp.

Arthur rolled his eyes then fixed Merlin with a glare, "Yes!" He shouted, "Go and get my breakfast! You are so incompetent." He muttered.

Merlin pressed his lips together to keep himself from retorting, it'd probably only put the prince in a worse mood, and he hurried down the stairs to the kitchen. After the cook finished shaking a ladle in his face and complaining about how she'd had to warm the food several times before he'd finally shown up, Merlin ran all the way to Arthur's chambers, bursting through the door with a gasp.

"H… Here," Merlin panted. "Here's your breakfast, eggs and meat and all. Can I just put it here because I have to make a quick stop at either Gaius' chambers or the kitchen or something just really quick, it'll only take a second because I just got up and woke you up this morning so I haven't really done anything yet so can I just have a second to go get something from one of those places?"

"No," Arthur snapped, "You need to grab my armor and be ready to help me put it in for patrol then you need to saddle my horse and make sure we are ready to leave."

"We? Wait I'm coming too?" Merlin looked rather shocked by this idea. "I'm coming on the patrol?"

"Of course you are, you are my servant and you will need to attend to me throughout the day. Now go make sure everything is ready, we need to leave in twenty minutes."

"Oh, twenty minutes? Wow, okay I'll go get your armor then. One second, I'll be back really quickly, you'll see! It's in the armory, right? Okay, just making sure. Okay, here I go then! Do you want all your breakfast, by the way, every single bit? Are you sure?"

"Just go, Merlin." Arthur said, in a calm, unnerving voice. "Make sure everything is ready or you will be spending all day in the stocks."

"Oh, it'll be ready, don't worry. I've never been on a patrol before, so I'm kind of excited! I wonder what it'll be like… Well, I'll see you soon!" Merlin hurried out the door and into the armory. Some of the knights were already inside, examining swords and determining their sharpness or something, Merlin wasn't quite sure exactly. He grabbed the prince's armor and nodded to the knights, giving them a quick 'hello' and a smile. They didn't return either, which annoyed Merlin a bit, but he shrugged it off and hurried away back to Arthur's chambers where he deposited it in a pile on the bed and then ran away before Arthur could say a word.

Merlin then went down to the stables where he readied the horses. Some horses were already gone, apparently other knights were also out this morning, but there were enough horses for everyone going on the patrol today. Soon there were seven horses ready, one for each knight, one for himself, and one for Arthur. Once the horses were already, Merlin turned to leave, however two knights came in and frowned at all the saddled horses.

"Why so many horses?" The first knight, Sir Calion, asked Merlin.

"One for each member of the patrol," Merlin answered. "Is that wrong?"

"Only the Prince and the two senior knights get horses," the second knight, Sir Bedivere, told Merlin. "You can put the rest away."

"Oh… So what do the rest of us do, walk?" Merlin looked rather confused.

"Yes." Sir Calion said, "Put those away and be quick about it."

"Oh, okay," Merlin nodded, and he began hurrying to get the saddles off the other horses. He realized, suddenly, that he needed to get back to Arthur so he could help him do last minute things before they left and likely Arthur was wondering where he was. This unsaddling thing was not a deterrent he needed, not at all. In his rush, he dropped one saddle several times, which rather annoyed him, however soon the horses were all back in their stalls, and Merlin dropped the last saddle in the rather large pile he'd made. He still needed to put them away the rest of the way, but maybe he could just hide the saddles and do it when he came back? Or, he could, but the knights were still watching him and chuckling slightly. With a sigh, Merlin went about putting the saddles away the rest of the way, and finally the last saddle was in place. It'd need to be cleaned before it was used again because dropping it had put a layer of dirt all over it, but it'd be okay, right? Now he really needed to get back to Arthur.

"Aren't you going to clean those?" Sir Calion asked snidely. "Where do you think you are going?"

"I have to get back to Arthur because he'll need things done before we leave and we leave really soon, so he'll be wondering where I am so I have to go but I'll do these when I come back. I hadn't expected to go on the patrol so I didn't know to get things ready and everything, so I have to hurry back and get things ready for Arthur right now so if you'll excuse me I really have to go."

Sir Bedivere's eyes narrowed and he glared at Merlin. "Do not address the Prince in that manner." He snapped, "You shall only call him Sire or master."

"Oh… Sorry," Merlin nodded slowly. "Of course. So, can I go help him now?"

Sir Calion looked like he was about to order Merlin to clean the saddles but Sir Bedivere grabbed his fellow Knights arm. "It would be best to not keep the Prince waiting." He said and nodded for Merlin to go, "But you will clean these when we get back."

"Oh, yeah, of course," Merlin nodded. He then smiled at the knights. "I'll see you on the patrol! It's my first ever! I'm kind of excited. Sorry, I'll go, I need to help Arth… I mean his highness."

Merlin hurried away and into the castles, the knights watching him carefully.

"Why did he get the job again? I was not at the infamous banquet," Sir Calion muttered. "Why's he so happy about a patrol, it's standard for the prince's servant. Does he really have no idea about any of the standard procedures? It's ridiculous that he got the job. Someone needs to instruct him how to be a proper servant before the king finds out or then he'll really in trouble…"

"But who should teach him?" Sir Bedivere asked. "The Prince doesn't have the time, and I don't know of anyone else who has noticed yet besides us."

"I don't see how they couldn't, he's so incompetent," Sir Calion frowned. "Why doesn't the Prince do something about him? I've heard he yells every once in a while, but what good'll that do with a servant like this one? He seems to bounce back from every complaint the prince comes up with. I wonder what he'll be like on this patrol... What do you think, Bedivere, how can someone make him a better servant because we both know a country bumpkin like that needs some kind of instructing or they'll end up in the dungeons or worse."

"I guess we'll just have to take it upon ourselves to teach him the errors of his ways." Bedivere said, "I think the others would be willing to help us, at least while we do patrol."

"Yes, perhaps so," Sir Calion agreed with a nod. "It's settled then. Let's go tell the others and then we'll show this good for nothing servant how to improve so he doesn't get himself kicked out of Camelot."

The two knights nodded in agreement and then, with smiles on their faces, they left the stables.

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 **AN:** _So this is just a short intro to a story which is already 48 pages... Please review and tell me what you think :)_


	2. Chapter 1

**AN:** _This chapter is strong on the Merlin hurt, just warning you._

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Merlin hurried into Arthur's room smiling at the prince before noticing his scowl.

"You alright?" Merlin asked.

"No," the prince snapped. "You left without helping me with my armor. I had to call in another servant to help me. Also he had to pack my bag because you didn't do anything."

"Oh… Well I got the horses ready except I had to unsaddle a bunch, which put me behind, and then two knights came and talked to me, and I couldn't be rude and go away, so I talked back, but I hurried to your chambers anyway as quick as I could, and I'm here now. So, are you ready to go? Because I'm ready! I'm excited, even if I do have to walk, which I didn't realize and that's too bad, but it's okay. I mean, knights are walking too, so it's okay."

"Are you ready?" Arthur interrupted, "Did you get everything? I am pretty sure you have forgotten something that we will need on the trip, but it is your fault if you did. Let's go, we are late enough already."

"Okay, let's go!" Merlin agreed. The two hurried downstairs and then got to the horses. The knights all gave Merlin a sort of odd look, which Merlin frowned at for a moment, before he simply smiled back. He wasn't sure what that odd look was meant to tell him, but he figured that he should just stay in a good mood, as it might help them all to be in a good mood.

Arthur leaped upon his horse and told them all to follow him, and then he and the two lead knights rode toward the forest, the group of other knights and Merlin following. Soon they were on a path in the forest, going along at a brisk pace, and Merlin's stomach growled loudly. He hadn't ended up with any breakfast, so he felt rather hungry. For a moment he trailed behind as he thought about this, and then two knights turned and sauntered over to him, deep-set frowns on their faces.

"Why aren't you keeping up with the group?" Sir Bedivere asked, as he and Sir Calion walked alongside the servant. "Aren't you able to walk any faster?"

"Oh, sorry," Merlin smiled easily. "I didn't have any breakfast, er, very little. I didn't realize I was falling behind. But... You're back here, so obviously I'm keeping up with you alright."

"Don't talk back to us boy," Sir Calion said gruffly. "Servants should address Knights properly."

"Oh, uh, sorry Sirs," Merlin remembered quickly, bowing his head and then smiling again, hopefully his good mood would improve the two knights' bad spirits. "I wasn't trying to talk back, I was just pointing out that you're walking along back here too, that's all."

"We came back here to tell you you were falling behind," Sir Calion snapped. "And you need to learn when not to speak."

Sir Bedivere nodded in agreement. "The Prince will not like it if you talk back with every sentence."

"Oh, well I was just... I mean... Right okay, yeah, sorry," Merlin muttered. He was rather taking a disliking to the situation, so he nodded at the knights and then said. "So, we'd better catch up then, huh? Bye."

"You don't get to leave yet," Sir Calion snapped, grabbing Merlin's arm and spinning him around and back to walk with them some more. "We have not yet dismissed you. How does the Prince put up with you?"

Merlin blinked, shocked for a moment, and then he frowned, inching away from the knights.

"I thought you wanted to catch up with the group," Merlin muttered. Then louder he asked. "I believe the prince puts up with me fine, but if you are upset, perhaps I should attend to the prince so I don't upset you even more? Is there something you need, though, since I'm to not catch up with the group, apparently?"

"You will stay here until we are done with you," Sir Calion said angrily. "We did not dismiss you and yet here you are leaving again. The prince has obviously not informed you in how a servant should act."

"It seems that job is a must," Sir Bedivere agreed.

"What job?" Merlin asked slowly, glancing between the two. "And Arth... I mean the prince has taught me plenty so I think I'm fine so can I just be excused?"

"No you may not. The Prince has no need for you at the moment," Sir Calion snapped, grabbing Merlin's neckerchief to in order to keep him next to them. "You will stay here for the moment until he needs you and we will show you how you need to change your ways."

Merlin glared at Sir Calion and tried to twist away, a snarl almost appeared but he kept it at bay.

"I think my ways are rather alright," Merlin stated.

Sir Calion growled and quickly said. "You talk back to us one more time boy and I won't be so kind."

"So watch how you are talking to us," Sir Bedivere added quickly.

"You call this kind?" Merlin muttered before he could stop himself, and then suddenly with widening eyes, he clicked his mouth shut with a pop.

Sir Calion wasted no time before drawing back his hand and slapping Merlin across the face.

"We warned you, boy," he snapped, before back handing Merlin.

Merlin's eyes widened further and he reeled backwards from the blow. He raised a hand to his suddenly throbbing cheek, and he glanced between the two in shock, swallowing thickly. He glanced between the two again with wide eyes before retreating back a few steps. For a moment a stab of fright shot through him, before he pushed it away and simply stated at the two with something between confusion and a glare.

"What's the matter boy?" Sir Calion asked, "Never had that done to you before? Well get used to it because until you start behaving like a proper servant you will find it happening."

"You're not my master, you aren't the ones who are meant to discipline me," Merlin pointed out quickly. "Maybe Arthur already thinks I'm a fine servant, what about that?"

"You shall respect your prince," Sir Calion growled, and then looked at Sir Bedivere. "I think he needs to be taught that as well."

He turned and once again backhanded the servant in the face.

Merlin staggered backwards and tears sprang to his eyes, though he pushed them away quickly. He cheek throbbed and he had to take a few shaking breaths before his heart could get back under control. He swallowed hard and his eyes shined with a layer of mist as they darted about uneasy.

"Stop," Merlin murmured, sounding shocked that they'd struck him again.

"Have you learned your lesson?" Sir Bedivere asked. "Because until you have, we'll stop teaching you."

"I don't know what hitting me is meant to teach me," Merlin glared at the knight, sniffling once and then simply glaring at them. This time, when the knight's hand shot out, Merlin flinched away. "I guess I learned how to do that."

Both knights growled at him, and Sir Calion spoke up. "Don't you talk back to us boy, that got you no where good last time. Would you rather we make sure you don't get any lunch today? We can arrange that with the prince."

"But I didn't get any breakfast," Merlin pointed out with a frown. "Remember?"

"That's too bad." Sir Bedivere answered. "Would you like us to make it dinner as well?"

"But... What happened to lunch? And wait, dinner? But... Won't we be back in Camelot by then?"

"This is a two day patrol," Sir Bedivere answered. "We won't be back till tomorrow night at the earliest."

"Oh..." Merlin looked a bit crestfallen. He was excited about this patrol, but his enthusiasm was wavering. "So, when is lunch?"

"We will be having lunch shortly, you in the other hand will be serving us and not eating any yourself," Sir Calion answered, smirking at Merlin. "Next time don't talk back to us."

"But... I didn't have any breakfast, I told you," Merlin frowned. "I didn't have any food and now no lunch?"

"That is correct," Sir Calion said smugly. "We told you that you should talk to us with respect. You have failed to do so and now you get no lunch."

"Oh," Merlin looked downhearted, and he glanced nervously at the ground. He then felt a flash of rebellion and he muttered, "Well, I wasn't that hungry anyway, so I probably wouldn't have eaten lunch. So whatever, who cares."

"Sir Bedivere, make sure he gets no dinner as well," Sir Calion called as he heard what the servant muttered.

"I will make sure of it," Sir Bedivere said, nodding at Sir Calion.

Merlin glanced hopelessly between the two, hoping somehow that they were just kidding with him and that they wouldn't really follow through with it. They didn't seem to be joking though... Merlin gulped and squared his shoulders. Well, he just wouldn't be hungry, that's all. Ealdor hadn't always had a lot of food, so often he'd skipped lunch or dinner. Generally not lunch and dinner and breakfast, though...

Merlin watched as the two nobles began walking at a brisk pace to catch up with the patrol, and Merlin slowly began to follow. He rubbed at his face which was still burning a bit, but it would get better. He also had to ignore an ache in his stomach, but it wasn't as bad as it could be.

The nobles glared back at him, so Merlin hurried up to keep pace with them. Soon they saw that the patrol had stopped up ahead for lunch. The Knights and Arthur were just finishing tying up their horses, and Arthur glanced over at the newcomers.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Everything is fine, Sire," Sir Calion said smoothly. "We were informing your servant what to expect on this patrol."

Merlin glanced at Arthur before he glanced away, grabbing a pan from a saddle bad and going about making a fire.

"Were you?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin. "Well I am sure Merlin is grateful that you have informed him about something he was supposed to know yesterday. Start cooking our food Merlin, hurry up. I am hungry."

"Me too, but I don't get any," Merlin muttered too quiet for Arthur to hear. Still, he went about making the food and soon some meat was ready. Each knight was given a piece leaving one piece left over, Merlin stared at it longingly as it sizzled in the pan. He licked his lips and wondered if maybe the Knights were just kidding, maybe he could have it? He did feel a bit hungry now.

Sir Bedivere caught his eye and shook his head warningly. A moment later Sir Calion did the same.

Merlin glared at them and then stared at the meat. No one was eating it!

"You know," he said quietly. "If no one plans to have the last piece, perhaps I will?"

Merlin glanced around again and then began to reach toward it.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted, "Give me that, I am still hungry. I didn't have enough time to eat much this morning as you were late."

"Oh," Merlin nodded understandingly. "Well, yeah okay, here you go Arth... I mean Sire."

Merlin handed the meat over and smiled weakly at Arthur.

"Well it seems you finally did something right for once," Arthur said. "Go ready our horses, we leave as soon as you wash the dishes."

Merlin nodded and hurried away to get the horses ready. He then made a trek down to the river. He groaned when he heard people approaching and found it to be the two Knights.

"What do you want now?" He moaned.

"Why nothing, only you tried to eat," Sir Calion said icily. "We told you you couldn't have any food and what do you do? Why you try to eat! I think he needs to be taught some more." He added turning to Sir Bedivere.

"I agree," Sir Bedivere nodded. "I will go keep watch, make sure he learns his lesson."

Merlin flinched away as Calion approached, skittering backward toward the stream.

"Hey, leave me alone," Merlin almost begged but instead tried to sound a little powerful.

"I don't think so," Calion answered, as he advanced toward the boy and without warning suddenly swung a fist at him, catching Merlin in the jaw. "You tried to eat when we specifically told you not to. Why?"

Merlin stumbled to his knees, holding his jaw and staring up at Calion with something akin to fear.

"I... No one else was!" Merlin explained.

"We told you not to partake in the meal, and we expected you to obey," Calion growled, swinging at Merlin again.

As Merlin was beginning to stand, he got caught in the jaw again, and he crumpled to the ground with a gasp. "But... I hadn't had any food! And gave it to Arthur! I even called Arthur Sire, didn't you see?"

"But you didn't just now," Calion pointed out. "You are his servant not his friend."

"Yeah but... I mean... He doesn't even seem to mind and besides you're acting like I'm your servant or something and I'm not so why are you doing this? Leave me alone, please. I thought a patrol would be fun, but I don't really like being kicked about."

Merlin skittered backwards when Calion aimed a kick for his stomach, and he glared up at Calion.

"You're not even a head knight!" Merlin pointed out with a glare.

"It doesn't matter at the moment," Calion said. "You have disrespected us and the prince and I am teaching you a lesson." He aimed another kick at the servant on the ground before him, this time catching him in the chest.

Merlin gasped for breath and scrambled backwards again, forgetting about the stream. He yelped when he plopped into the edge of it, splashing water toward Calion. His head walked against a rock and stars danced in front of his eyes. Merlin suddenly shivered in the cold water and for a moment he felt rather miserable indeed before he tried to push the feeling away. Still the cold doubled with his sudden difficulty breathing again, causing tears to spring into his eyes, though he did nothing but glared helplessly at Calion.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" Merlin voice broke part way through his statement, destroying his hope to sound powerful.

"I don't think we will, not until you behave as a servant should," Calion growled, reaching out to pull Merlin into a standing position, frowning when the servant crumpled to his knees, unable to stand at the moment. "Hurry up and do what you were sent here to do, then you will go back to camp and behave yourself."

Merlin trembled from the cold as turned to fill the water containers. He swallowed several times and soon got his emotions under control, so he forced himself to his feet and plastered a sort of smile on his face.

"So..." He spoke softly. "Do we go back now?"

"Well you go back and then we will come in a few moments,." Calion said. He then shoved Merlin harshly. "Now go!"

Merlin stumbled back towards camp, sniffling when he was sure he was far enough away that the Knights couldn't hear him. His smile was back on his face again when he got back to camp, though, and he hurried to put the water containers on the saddles of the horses. There was a footstep behind him and to his right, and Merlin suddenly flinched violently away with a gasp.

"What has gotten into you?" Arthur's voice came from behind him. "Have you finished with getting our horses ready yet?"

"Oh, Arthu- I mean, yes Sire," Merlin spun and stared wide eyed at Arthur. After a moment Merlin bowed his head so Arthur couldn't see how he had to work to get his breathing back under control.

"Good," Arthur said. "I guess you have finally done something else right. Well let's go, we leave as soon as everyone is here."

Merlin watched with a leaden heart as Arthur marched away and then Calion and Bedevere entered the clearing. It's not as if Merlin wanted Arthur to notice something was wrong, but he was still a little sad that Arthur was so caught up in being royalty that Merlin's problem went unnoticed. Still, Merlin told himself that that's just how royal prats are, and he pretended to be busy with the horses so that the other Knights would leave him alone. After a moment, Arthur said it was time to go, and Merlin stepped away from the horse so that Arthur could begin leading the group. Merlin followed behind, his chest aching now as much as his stomach did, if not more so. He wheezed slightly, though he tried to ignore it, and suddenly his stomach growled loudly.

"Be quiet, stomach," Merlin hissed to himself.

"Are you hungry?" Bedivere asked as he walked up next to Merlin. "Too bad you didn't think of that earlier, when you had the chance to keep your lunch."

Merlin flinched away from Bedivere, staring at him suspiciously.

"I did try to keep my lunch, someone else took the last piece though. But there is dinner time, right? Please?"

"For us there is," Calion said. "We might let you have some if you behave and act like a servant should the rest of the trip for today."

"Well... I have been now, right? Aren't I behaving like a servant? I called Arth... I mean, uh, the prince Sire, and I didn't talk back to him and everything! What more does it take?"

"Maybe you should treat us with the same respect the prince gets," Calion suggested, "Then we might let you have dinner."

"But," Merlin looked confused. "I am treating you with respect! How much more respect do you want? I mean, I'm not calling you prats or anything with your rules about servants like we used to in my village! You're getting plenty of respect!"

"We are noblemen, you will treat us as such," Calion growled.

"But... I am?" It was more of a question as he glanced between the two Knights nervously.

"To some degree, but any other servant would be going out of his way to make sure we were all right and didn't need anything done for us."

"I would, but you don't give me the chance, do you?" Merlin suddenly felt rebellious for a moment, upset that they thought he wouldn't watch out for them, given the chance. "I would do plenty but instead you've got to come and bother me when I'm trying to do my chores and then you're mean to me!"

"We are teaching you how a servants life is, and what is expected of you," Bedivere frowned. "You should be grateful to us."

"Oh, I'm so thankful my stomach hurts and my chest feels like it got sat on by a cow," Merlin muttered. "Oh, so thankful!" As the knight's began to look angrier, however, Merlin gulped, the fear slowly worming back into him. His eyes widened and his breath caught at the Knights enraged faces.

"What did you say, boy?" Calion asked anger prominent on his face. He grabbed Merlin's neckerchief harshly causing the boy to cower in sudden terror of being hit again. "I am pretty sure I misheard you."

"Um..." Merlin gulped. "The... The part about being sat on by a cow or the part where I'm thankful? Because... Well, I am, really. I guess maybe I am? I meant, well... I don't know how you can think I'm thankful but maybe I am but my stomach does hurt and my chest does hurt and I don't know why you think I'd be thankful but maybe I am, but I shouldn't be because you've been mean but I'll try but... But..." Merlin trailed off as fear clouded into his mind and his breath sped up which only made his chest ache all the more.

"And when you go hungry tonight," Calion said. "Remember that this is why."

Both knights continued on toward the front of the group and left the servant alone. He frowned and felt the childish instinct to stick his tongue out at their backs, however instead he simply sighed and followed behind.

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 **AN:** _So, what do you think? Poor Merlin :*( Hopefully someone notices something is wrong soon... Please review!_


	3. Chapter 2

**An:** _S_ _o this is a bit more of the comfort side, but there is more hurt to come... Anyway hope you enjoy!_

 _And in reply to a comment, I see this as happening before The Poisoned Chalice._

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Merlin wrapped his arms around himself to try to stop _something_ from hurting, and he blinked hard to keep his tears at bay. No food again? What did they want with him? What exactly were they trying to accomplish? He'd do almost anything to get just a scrap of food, what did they want him to do? After a moment, Merlin stumbled and began to catch up, his legs shaking and clumsier than usual.

"Are you alright young one?" Came a voice from his side causing Merlin to jump. Merlin glanced up to see a knight on horseback, and Merlin suddenly bowed his head in fear.

"Yes, Sir, I'm fine, thank you. Thank you caring but I don't need caring about because I'm fine," Merlin gulped.

"You are the prince's servant are you not? What is your name?" The knight asked, looking at the servant's posture and the way he almost curled in on himself. "You do not seem alright."

"It's Merlin Sire, I mean Sir, I mean, yes, Sir, right? I mean, anyway, it's Merlin. My name is Merlin," Merlin whimpered.

"Alright, Merlin," the knight nodded slowly. "Now are you sure you are alright? I saw you with Bedivere and Calion, they aren't always the nicest to servants. Please tell me if they have bothered you in any way."

"What? No, they just, they were, uh, I mean, they called it, er, they were helping me learn things, but I think they were trying to be helpful, I mean, they were being helpful. They're knights so they're very helpful! They're always helpful, Sir!"

"And what method of helping did they use this time?" The knight asked. "Are they actually telling you or... Using another method."

"Other method? No they're just... Helping me! That's all, Sir. I needed to learn some things and they helped and so now I'll be a better servant, I promise," Merlin sincerely hoped that Calion and Bedevere appreciated this because he found he not only didn't like being all respectful, not that he wouldn't be of the kinder old knight, but also it was making him unduly flustered. For good measure, Merlin added, "I'm sorry for seeming flustered, Sir, I got little lunch, but that alright, I don't mind! Not at all! I'm sorry, Sir."

"Why did you only get a little lunch?" The knight asked, "There was enough for all."

"I... Well Arth... I mean, his highness was hungry, very hungry, so I gave my share to him and plus I didn't want to upset any of you by eating there, but I'm probably upsetting you now so I'm sorry, please forgive me, Sir! I'll just be quiet..."

"You are not upsetting me," the knight replied, looking down at Merlin. "You should have had food this afternoon, we still have a ways to go."

"It's okay, I'm not that hungry," Merlin lied, just as his stomach rumbled. "It's nothing, really, I can't eat."

"You can't eat?" The knight asked in surprise. "What do you mean you can not eat? Is that how they are teaching you? By not letting you eat if you are not up to their standards?"

"How could you know that?" Merlin was so surprised he knew that Merlin spoke without thinking.

"So they did? That is a new method even for them. Why did you not say anything? They do not have the right to punish you, only your master and some of the senior Knights can do that. What else did they do to you?"

"Nothing! Nothing please, they haven't done anything!" Merlin panicked. If they found out he'd told, he expected things would get worse. "Please, they didn't do anything!"

"You can tell me," the knight said. "They have had their fair share of warning on how they can treat the servants. If they have physically harmed you, which the starving almost qualifies as, then they could be stripped of their knighthood and you, and many others, would never be bothered by them again."

"You can't do that to them!" Merlin said before he snapped his mouth shut. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry for the lack of respect Sir. That would be mean, though, they're knights, please, Sir, don't do that to them."

"They have had warnings, if they do not follow the Knights' Code then why should they be knights?" The knight asked. "They wouldn't harm you ever again. I will make sure they stay away from you during the remainder of this trip."

"Well..." Merlin hesitated, before he shook his head. "They are knights, please don't take that away from them, Sir."

"Officially I wouldn't be, that is the prince's decision while we are on patrol. I will inform him of what has happened and he will decide," the knight started to turn away.

"No, please don't, Sir, they haven't done anything really, please! I haven't said a bad word about them. Please Sir, don't report it. I didn't mean to sound like I'm complaining. I won't again, I promise. I'll never say anything again!" Merlin said hurriedly, his breathing starting to come in short gasps, as he defended the knights.

"I have to report it, I am required to report anything I think is wrong to the prince. He will probably want to check you over, and if he does not find anything then they are free to go."

"Please don't, I will do anything! I won't eat for a week! I'll do anything you tell me to!"

"It is my duty Merlin," the knight said softly. "I am sorry, no amount of asking or bribing will get you out of it."

Merlin shook his head in horror, tears again gathering in his eyes.

"Please," he whimpered. "They'll hurt me worse, please."

"They will hurt you worse?" He asked, looking at him strangely. "What have they already done to you?"

"Nothing, just eating so my stomach hurts, that's all, honest," Merlin cried. "It's nothing, I'm just... I'm not afraid! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

The knight looked thoughtfully at Merlin for a second before dismounting and waving the other senior knight over. "Go and tell Prince Arthur I wish to speak with him, then continue leading the group. Make sure Calion and Bedivere go with you, don't call them out or anything just be sure they don't try to come back here."

The second knight nodded and rode toward the front of the procession where the Prince was.

"But..." Merlin wrapped his arms around himself. "They'll find out anyway, and I can't let Arthur, Prince Arthur, find out, please! Please don't do this."

"I am sorry, I know you don't want it but I must," the knight said sorrowfully. "It will be done soon and they won't be let near you ever again."

A few seconds later Arthur rode up and dismounted.

"What is going on?" He asked, "Merlin what have you done now?"

"Nothing, your highness, please, I'm sorry," Merlin bowed deeply as apologies tumbled from his mouth. He shut up quickly though, trying not to make anything worse.

"It isn't what he has done," the knight sighed. "But rather what I fear has been done to him. Calion and Bedivere were around him earlier and he has admitted that they didn't let him eat lunch, and has pretty much said that they hurt him. We have had complaints about them before, this would be useful in finding out what they do to the servants."

Arthur looked surprised but nodded. "Alright Sir Garrison. Merlin, take off your shirt."

"What?" Merlin froze. "Why? Sire, I mean, but..." He didn't know if his chest had bruised yet, but the thought made him gulp.

"Merlin," Arthur sighed. "Just do as you are told, I need to see."

Merlin gulped and got his shirt off, shivering in the cold. His chest was already turning a sickly shade of yellow green, and he glanced away in shame.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"It's not bad," Merlin muttered. "May I put my shirt back on please, Sire?"

"Are you sure you don't have any broken ribs or something?" Arthur asked, glancing down once again at the bruise. "If not then sure."

"I'm sure I don't," Merlin paled at the idea. "It's nothing, really! I didn't mean to complain, Sire, I just... I mean... I don't mean to talk back either, I'm not, I'm sorry, Sire."

"What has gotten into you?" Arthur asked, laughing, "You are more polite than usual, did you finally learn the way a servant is to treat his master?"

Merlin flushed slightly, but he looked down at the ground and blinked away tears. His voice was quiet and it cracked as he spoke, "Yes Sire."

"Sire, if I may?" Sir Garrison asked and, when Arthur nodded, he spoke up.

"I believe that was exactly what Bedivere and Calion were trying to teach him, Sire. They have 'helped' the servants before and it never ended well. First they allowed him no food at lunch then they beat him, I wouldn't be surprised if they were going to do more."

"Is this true Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"They just... They're Knights, I'm not comp... I mean... Why did you tell him, Sir Garrison? It'll get worse, it'll only get worse..." Merlin trailed off hopelessly. "Sire, nothing has happened for me to complain, just... I mean... I'm sorry Sire..."

"They won't be going near you again," Arthur said simply, as if Merlin hadn't just spoke. "How can you say that you have nothing to complain about? They beat you and didn't let you eat, you complain about everything! Garrison, please go ahead with the others while I make sure Merlin isn't hurt and we will stop where we planned."

"Please, Sir Garrison," Merlin spoke quietly. "If they know I told... Please, I didn't mean to complain, really, I'm sorry..."

"Merlin, stop." Arthur commanded. "They have done this a few times before, I am this close to bringing them before my father and having them stripped of knighthood. By attacking you they have brought this upon themselves."

"But... But I don't want to be the reason they have to leave the Knights!" Merlin gasped.

"You are not, I am," Arthur answered, "I bring forward any evidence against the Knights, I am responsible for their knighthood in the first place I can take it away if I feel it is needed. It may not be, though, first I must talk with them."

Merlin was feeling dizzy from his lack of food and from a hit he'd received on the head when he'd fallen in the stream, and suddenly the idea that he'd be the reason for this, truly, made him sway, a hand held to his head. He moaned softly, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked with a frown, staring at the boy who was swaying on his feet.

"He didn't eat and he has been hurt Sire," Sir Garrison stepped up toward Merlin. "Sit down boy, before you fall over. Could you get some food for him, Sire? He will need it."

Arthur frowned a bit at the idea of handing over his food however he walked over to his horse. He reached in and pulled out some bread and a flask of water, walking back he held out the water and bread to the now sitting Merlin. "Here, don't faint like a girl okay?"

"Wha?" Merlin stared blankly at the food. "Bu... I can'eat din'r." Merlin's head was suddenly throbbing even worse and he gasped for breath even as he felt as if he couldn't breath. The world went white for a moment and his ears buzzed loudly. He frowned, that was rather annoying...

"You have to eat boy," Sir Garrison said, reaching to take the bread from Arthur. "Did they say you couldn't eat dinner either? Well, I think the prince is telling you otherwise."

Merlin blinked several times, wishing the world would swim back into focus. Still, he reached clumsily for the bread and almost missed it completely. After a moment he took it, nibbling at the corner before seeming to lose interest.

Arthur watched as Merlin first was more clumsy than usual and then as he set the food down in his lap.

"He should be hungry, and more coordinated," the prince murmured to Garrison.

"Why don't you see if he has any wounds sire?" Garrison suggested. "I will grab the medical supplies from my bag."

Arthur nodded and knelt down next to the servant and reached out to tap his shoulder, "Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Merlin flinched away violently with a gasp before he tried to clutch his head and instead ended up almost falling to the ground. His other hand hit the ground as he tried to keep from falling over.

"Please, I didn' mean t'eat dinner, the prince tol'me to," Merlin murmured quietly. "M'sorry."

"It's fine Merlin." Arthur looked confused for a moment, then reached out to help Merlin. "Did you hit your head? It seems as if it pains you."

He reached up and began to inspect the servant's head. A minute later his fingers encountered a large, slightly sticky lump on the back of his head, as if he had thrown his head back and hit something. "Merlin, you idiot! Why didn't you say you had hit your head? When did this happen?"

"'M sorry, S... Sir, I... They didn't mean to, I'm not complaining! I just... When the river came and I fell I... I didn't mean to complain, I respect royality!"

"You aren't complaining!" Arthur snapped, then his voice softened a bit. "That's the problem, you didn't tell us you were hurt."

He looked up to see Sir Garrison making his way over to the pair. "He hit his head in the stream apparently. It would explain both his extremely severe clumsiness and the fact that he isn't hungry. We need him to eat though, he didn't have lunch and I'm not sure what he ate this morning."

"'M not 'ungry, don' even need din'r," Merlin mumbled.

"You need to eat," Arthur demanded. "Did you have breakfast this morning?"

"I was being a good servant, like I'm meant to so please don' hit me again," Merlin's eyelids fought to stay open and he began to slump against Arthur.

"I won't hit you," Arthur began to wrap Merlin's head wound while he listened to Merlin explain. When Merlin's eyelids drooped, he shook Merlin gently. "You have to stay awake though."

"Ow, stop, ple's don' I... You said you wouldn'hit me. Please don'," Merlin sniffled suddenly, pressing his eyes shut.

"I won't," Arthur slapped Merlin's cheek, as gently as he could. "Stay awake, you have a head injury. You need to stay awake."

"'M sorry," Merlin suddenly wailed quietly. "Hurts, sto... Sto... Ow... I... 'll stay 'wake, please stop."

"I just need you to stay awake for me," he turned to Garrison. "We might as well stay here tonight. I don't want to move him, it might make things worse."

"We should look for some herbs. I've been a knight for many years and I've seen such injuries. They must be treated quickly. I know some rudimentary things that will help the boy," Garrison told Arthur.

"Alright," Arthur gently slipped out from where Merlin was leaning on him and after he had made sure that the boy wasn't going to fall over, walked over to his pack. "I will set up blankets and such."

"Someone should find him blueberries, they will help. He also needs to drink a lot of water and stay warm. We can mix some strong smelling leaves to keep him awake," Garrison began giving suggestions. "And we must keep his head elevated."

"Alright," Arthur nodded, wondering if he should bother to learn all this. "I guess I will make sure he is comfortable and then get the blueberries."Thank you for your help Garrison. And for alerting me to the situation."

"Of course, his injury has only gotten worse in the last few minutes, I'm glad I caught it early. What will we do about the others?"

"They will have to continue patrol on their own. We will make our way back to Camelot as soon as possible," Arthur sighed. "Then I can alert my father to the situation."

"Alright, that will be best for Merlin. I will back you up should the king have complaints with this plan. Those two have been suspected of treating servants and peasants poorly, but we've been unable to find hard proof before. Poor Merlin has served an important purpose, however. He is the proof we need. I hope that he will be alright."

"'M fine," Merlin suddenly joined in the conversation randomly. "I feel fine, I need'ta help Arthur! I mean... No! 'M sorry, I didn' mean to. Sire, his highness, the prince, 'm sorry!"

"Shut up Merlin," Arthur snapped. "I am not believing you are fine until you start not respecting me anymore. Then I know you are back to your oh so cheerful self."

"Wha?" Merlin asked, confused. "I don' undertan' what you want? I'll do anythin', really!"

"We need to get him more comfortable. Allow me to care for him and you can begin collecting things. You may also want to speak with Sir Kay about the patrol," Garrison told Arthur.

"Go ahead," Arthur told Garrison. "I will be sure to speak with him."

"Come here, boy," Garrison spoke with a gentle voice as he leaned Merlin against a tree. "I'm just going to start a fire. See? Alright, now you need to drink some water. Here's my canteen, alright? Drink."

He tipped some water into Merlin's mouth and Merlin swallowed reflexively. This happened several more times before Arthur returned with some herbs and blueberries.

"Thank you, your highness, and I'm sure your servant would thank you as well. Did you speak with the others?"

"I did. I told Kay to finish the patrol and tell my father we would be coming as soon as possible if they arrive before us."

Arthur handed Garrison the blueberries, "Here, I'm not exactly sure what to do."

Garrison nodded and put the blueberries between two cloths. He crushed them and then mixed them with his water.

"Drink the rest down, Merlin," Garrison instructed. He then carefully chose some herbs and placed them in a bandage, tiring it around Merlin's head. He took some other herbs and mashed them with a few more berries before spreading the paste just below Merlin's nose. "That should keep you awake for a while until it's safer for you to sleep, young one. Sire, we need to make sure he keeps sitting, even in sleep. We should watch over him tonight."

Arthur nodded, "I can watch him for a bit if you want to rest. It's already starting to get dark out, we will be here awhile. How long until he can sleep?"

"We need to check his head frequently and make sure he doesn't bleed through the bandage. If he does not, the herbs will keep him awake only as long as he should be. I believe with those herbs, his body will be better able to tell when he can sleep. It will be more than an hour I believe, though he may seem rather comatose through this time.

Once he's asleep we will need to wake him every few hours."

"Alright," Arthur nodded. "I think I can do that." He smiled slightly at Garrison before his face fell.

"I am going to make sure those two pay for what they have done," he said in a low voice. "They had no right..."

"No, they did not Sire, but I think they believed that they were... Training Merlin to be a better servant. They both seem to have high standards, and many have heard of Merlin's... Er... Clumsiness. But as you say, it is not their place to make these decisions."

"I would have done it..." Arthur said. "If I... Uh, felt that it was, uh, necessary."

"They likely thought you didn't have time, as you are the prince. I suppose they chose to take matters into their own hands," Garrison sighed. "They have been warned not to get carried away, but apparently they don't seem to understand what carried away means."

"No they have no concept of the idea. I will make sure my father knows how displeased I am."

"Whatever you think best, Sire," Garrison nodded. "I will make us some sort of dinner, granted I'm not the best cook of the bunch, but I hope you will think that some sort of broth will be satisfactory. It will be good for Merlin."

"I do not mind," Arthur said. "I can not cook at all so you are better than me. Whatever is best for my servant is fine with me."

"I am a bit curious, Sire," Garrison said slowly. "I saw how the boy saved you that night so he got made your servant. At first you seemed rather displeased at this arrangement. Has something changed?"

"He isn't a half bad servant," Arthur admitted. "He learns quickly how I like things. I am not happy with the arrangement by any means though, he saved my life and now I saved his. Now we are even."

"I see," Garrison nodded. "He seems a nice sort of fellow, though he does seem unacquainted with all of castle life. He will likely learn, he just needs to learn about the city rather than the country where I heard he was raised. Still, despite the flaws people speak of, he did show bravery when he saved you, and he seems to have a good sort of heart. He's not like the many servants who fellow commands like the wind, it seems to me. Instead he seems a bit more concerned about what's right and what's not. I've seen him helping others with their chores if they seem to be having a hard time; it might account for some of his lateness, which I've been told is an occasional problem."

"It is a problem only when I have a meeting or training," Arthur admitted. "Not having someone wake me up at dawn every day is actually preferable."

"Well, he does get up early, I've seen him walking the halls at dawn, but often he ends up helping a child carry things around or gives a hand to an older nobleman if he sees they need something. I also saw him come back from picking herbs for Gaius just before dawn, once."

"He does all that? He works for Gaius? Why?" Arthur stood where he was for a moment in shock.

"He is Gaius's ward, I believe," Garrison explained. "He sometimes delivers medications to people around the castle early in the morning as well."

"Why wouldn't he tell me that? We could find Gaius a helper if he needed it, that way Merlin could be with me, and maybe have a bit more time to complete those chores he never finishes."

"You could ask, I don't know much. I simply know that he works for Gaius and I believe he lives in Gaius's storeroom. I needed something for a headache and I saw him go in there for sleep, I believe."

"He what?" Arthur asked. "Gaius could have asked for him to have a room, or he could have asked for a room! He could have stayed in the ante chambers, that is where most servants stay."

"Again, I'm not the one to speak to about this matter, it is Merlin and Gaius you should talk to. You did not know that he is Gaius' ward?"

"No," Arthur shook his head. "I didn't know he lived in a storeroom either."

"Yes, these are both characteristics of Merlin's life," Garrison glanced at the serving boy who was staring into the distance blankly. "Merlin, how're you feeling?"

"I... I'm okay," Merlin mumbled. "Did you say Gaius? Is Gaius here? Will he help me?"

"Gaius isn't here, Merlin," Arthur turned toward his servant. "We will bring you to him tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Merlin agreed. "I hope he doesn't worry, I don't want him to worry. Will you tell him not to when we get back, please, Arth... Sire?"

"We will let him know," Arthur nodded. "And stop calling me Sire, it is too strange even for you."

"But they taught me to, I don't wanna make them mad again!"

"You can forget anything they 'taught' you," Arthur snapped. "I didn't want you to be taught."

"But... But I'm finally a better servant!" Merlin looked confused. "I'm not terrible like they said I am, and maybe now you won't make me leave Camelot."

"They were wrong," Arthur replied. "I would not make you leave Camelot, Gaius might slip something in my food if I did that."

Merlin chuckled softly and smiled, nodding.

"Okay, well," Merlin's head dropped from pure exhaustion. "I will try to not be trained anymore, if they stop being mean and I don't get hurt again."

"Good," Arthur nodded. "They won't touch the servants again if I have anything to say about it."

"Okay," Merlin said quietly.

"We should let him rest," Garrison spoke up. "Let's discuss the quickest way back to Camelot."

* * *

 **An:** _Please tell me what you think :)_


	4. Chapter 3

**AN:** _Thank you for all the support! I hope you like this next chapter._

* * *

The small group of Knights continued on their patrol, Kay keeping a close eye on both Bedivere and Calion. Finally he said they could stop and make camp, and the two younger Knights watched their accompany-men with unease.

"Something's happened," Calion whispered to Bedivere. "The prince and the serving boy are both missing, something's happened."

"Do you think he told the prince what was happening?" Bedivere asked, fear flashing across his face.

"Tell what, that we were helping him learn? It's not as if what we did was in malice; we hoped to help the poor incompetent peasant," Calion frowned.

"Yeah, I guess so," Bedivere nodded in agreement, but his expression was uneasy. "We were just doing our duty as knights. If he did tell... You don't suppose... How do you think the prince would see it? He doesn't like his servant anyway, right?"

"I think he would be glad," Calion smiled, but he wasn't convincing anyone. "He hates him, always throwing him in the stocks, and giving him more chores."

"Yes, yes of course," Bedivere agreed, though he hesitated again. "But... Garrison sometimes is kind to servants... He gave us a 'warning' once, remember? He is missing as well..."

"Do you think Garrison is with them?" Calion asked. "He did give us a warning before, what did he say would happen if we went that far again?"

"He said... Our knighthoods," Bedivere paled. "He said he might influence the king or prince to... To take away our knighthoods!"

Calion looked at Bedivere in shock. "What if he thinks we went 'too far' with this one? We didn't. You and I know that, but what if he sees it differently?"

"I wouldn't think so but... You can never tell with Garrison, what he'll think."

"Bedivere, I think we need to find their camp tonight and see what the situation is. I for one will not be having my knighthood revoked over a clumsy serving boy."

"Neither will I, let's go tonight and see what is going on," Bedivere nodded. "I am sure Kay will let us go check on the prince."

"No, we cannot tell Kay, we will go in secret. We will take the watches and be quiet about leaving."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan. We will go later tonight."

The two nodded in agreement and then once again joined in the the dinner their companion had prepared. That night, Bedevere said he'd take the first watch. After everyone had been asleep for a while, he woke Calion and they snuck away from camp. They crept through the woods until another campfire came into view and they saw Garrison sound asleep in a bedroll. The servant was leaned against a tree and the prince sat beside him, also asleep though it seemed he'd been meant to keep watch. Merlin's head had been wrapped in a bandage.

"They cared for him," Bedevere whispered in shock.

Calion just shook his head in shock, "Why? The prince hates him! Why would he care for him! I understand maybe Garrison, but the prince? Why?"

"I don't know," Bedevere frowned. "But this is not looking good for us. Wait look!"

Arthur jerked awake suddenly and he rubbed his eyes, glancing at Merlin. Arthur frowned and checked Merlin's head. He then gently shook Merlin.

"You alright?" He asked. "Wake up! You okay?"

"Hm?" Merlin's eyes blinked open. "Yeah, 'm fine. You c'n go back to sleep, cause I know I will."

"Okay, I'll wake you again in a bit," Arthur promised before he and the servant then began to nod off again.

"He got a head injury?" Bedevere frowned. "If they are waking him frequently, it could be a bad one."

"I didn't hit him on the head," Calion said, puzzled. "I swear I didn't. I wouldn't do that to him, head injuries can be serious."

"How'd he get it, then? Did he fall? Hit his head?"

"I don't know, he might have hit his head when he fell in the stream but I didn't notice," Calion tried to think of when the servant could have fallen. "Or he could have tripped, he is clumsy."

"But, with an injury like that, we may he blamed, especially with Garrison. This could be it, when our knighthoods get revoked," Bedivere paled even more. "I won't have it! No! We... We have to do something... We could, but no we couldn't do that I don't really want to hurt the peasant but, we could make him go away to some town, maybe threaten him to never come back? If they don't have solid proof, the king will never go for getting rid of us!"

"We could try, but you know how loyal he is to the prince... He won't leave his side if he can help it."

"But we have to get rid of him, this is better than nothing. Come, let's get him out of camp and somewhere off in the the forest, then we can speak to him."

"Alright," Calion started to stand up, and began to walk into camp as silently as he could. Bedivere followed and they walked up next to where the servant is lying.

"You pick him up," Calion whispered. "If he starts to wake up just tell him to be quiet, he should obey."

Bedivere picked up Merlin, who after a moment blinked his eyes open. When he saw Bedivere, he shook his head and squirmed.

"Keep quiet," Calion grabbed Merlin's neckerchief and tied it in his mouth as a gag. Merlin's eyes widened, a small whimper escaping his mouth, and but then the three whisked away from camp, soon arriving in the middle of the woods.

"Alright, set him down," Calion told Bedivere, then he knelt down next to Merlin. "You are going to keep quiet when I pull this gag off of you or I will leave it on, and I am sure you don't want that."

Merlin nodded and Calion slipped the gag off, "Now, what have you told the prince? What did you say?"

"I... He made me tell, I'm sorry, Sir, I didn't want to! Honest I didn't Sir! His highness made me tell!" Merlin gasped, his head throbbing. He closed his eyes tightly as the world danced out of focus for a moment. Calion frowned, the servant's condition was far poorer than he would have expected.

"Did you eat?" Calion asked, unsure which answer he hoped to hear.

"I... I didn't want to! I told him I couldn't! It was only some bread, please Sir!"

"You disobeyed us," Bedivere spoke, but his voice held little malice. "You know you shouldn't do that, but this time I there is a far better solution for everyone. You must leave Camelot. What has the prince said about us? Tell us."

"He... He said..." Merlin closed his eyes again as the truth tumbled out of him. "He said he was mad, Sir, that... He's really mad with you, Sir but... But I tried to say it wasn't your fault but he said it is, ow please don't shake me, my head!"

Merlin was met with silence, and he blinked his eyes open to see that Bedivere and Calion had stepped away, swords held out against a group of dark clothed men.

"We are Knights of Camelot," Bedivere was saying. "Do not attempt to fight us, we have been trained and our skills perfected. Let us go free."

"Little chance of that," one of the other men smirked. "It would be nice to save bloodshed, but we will not leave empty handed."

"Take him!" Calion suddenly blurted out, pointing to Merlin. "He is the personal manservant to the prince! He... He knows information I'm sure, and the prince is likely to pay a pretty penny to get his personal servant back! Besides, he had been trained to be a good servant."

"An interesting proposition," the leader glanced at Merlin. "And you will not put up a fight?"

"None, if you let us go free," Calion stated. "I give you my honest word that I tell you the truth. And there will be no bloodshed."

The other man nodded.

"I will take it, I don't want to lose men. Men, restrain the servant and allow these two _gentlemen_ to go free. If you come after us, _knight of Camelot,_ expect that we will fight back."

"It is understood," Calion agreed. He pulled the shocked Bedivere backwards as the other men grabbed Merlin and began to drag him away. Bedivere stared after them.

"This is a blessing," Calion shrugged. "Let's return to camp."

"What did you just do?" Bedivere asked, in a shocked voice. "Did you really just do that?"

"Do what, get rid of the servant so we can keep our knighthoods? Yes, I believe I did."

"They are going to suspect us! I don't think you should have done that."

"They won't suspect us if they never knew we left the camp. Come, let's return quickly and hope that the servant never comes back to tell his tale."

"Alright," Bedivere said in a shaky, unsure voice. "Are you sure nothing will happen?"

"What could happen? I'm sure the bandits will find some use for the servant, and we will be fine. Why do you look so worried? Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for the runt, Bedivere!"

"I don't!" Bedivere protested quickly. "But, don't you think we are taking it a bit too far?"

"Well there's no going back now unless you wish to run to the prince, crying about how you traded his servant for your own life. Of course, our lives are worth more than a servant's anyway, the prince would understand I suppose. So, if you really want to take that route and risk the chance of having our knighthoods revoked..." Calion trailed off, smirking at his fellow knight.

"I..." Bedivere trailed off. "I don't know, Calion. If we rescued him then maybe the Prince wouldn't do anything to us!"

"You really want to help that pathetic servant? Besides, how would we even know that he was captured, we weren't supposed to know where their camp was! Let him be taken away, and our problems with him. I wash my hands clean of the situation, I suggest you do the same. Now I'm headed back to camp, follow me or don't, I will not stand by and watch my knighthood be stripped away for me to be sent back to my father as a failure!"

"Alright," Bedivere said, "Fine, I'll go with you. I don't really want my father to see me as a failure either."

"Good choice," Calion nodded, and then he snuck back into camp, tucking himself under his blankets and trying to forget the streak of panic across the raven haired servant's face as the bandits or whatever they were had dragged him away.

MMM

Arthur blinked his eyes open a couple hours later. He sat up slightly reaching up to rub his eyes, trying to wake himself up more. He wondered for hall a second what had woken him up, then he remembered that he had to wake Merlin up.

The prince turned to where the manservant should be and stopped when he realized that the space next to him was empty.

"Merlin?" He called, looking around frantically.

"Garrison!" He shouted, shooting to a standing position. "Wake up! Merlin is gone!"

Garrison slowly awoke, freezing when he heard what the prince had said.

"Merlin is what?" Garrison's jaw dropped. "But... How could he be gone? It makes no sense, he could not have moved on his own... Unless, you don't suppose that... I mean not to speak ill of our fellow Knights, but what if Calion and Bedivere have something to do with this?"

"I don't know, but we have to find him!" Arthur breathed as he quickly began to pack up their supplies. "He could hurt himself worse!"

"We will find the other's camp and see what the situation is. Come, Sire."

Garrison finished packing the rest of the supplies and then they mounted their horses, hurrying toward where the camp should be. Indeed there was a quiet chatter and a twisting trail of smoke snaked into the sky from the camp fire.

Arthur rode into the clearing and quickly dismounted his horse. "Everyone up!" He called, ignoring Bedivere who was on watch at the moment.

The Knights slowly stirred, glancing sleepily at Arthur.

"Is something wrong, Sire?" Kay asked after a moment.

"Merlin is missing," Arthur spat. "Have any of you seen my servant?" He glared at Calion and Bedivere as he talked.

"I have not," Kay frowned.

"Nor have I," the other Knights chorused.

"I haven't seen him come by," Calion added with a frown. "He's missing, you say? When did he go missing?"

"In the last couple of hours," Arthur glared at Calion for a moment before breaking his gaze. "We had fallen behind and stopped to camp a little ways back and I woke up and he was gone."

"Couldn't have he gotten up and walked away?" Calion asked, sounding confused.

"He was hurt," Arthur shook his head. "He could not have just gotten up and walked away. We planned on returning to Camelot to get him to Gaius as soon as possible."

"That is odd," Calion frowned. "Very odd."

"Perhaps we should look for him?" Kay asked. "If you are worried."

"That would be best," Garrison spoke up from beside the prince. "Kay, Arthur and I will take Bedivere and Calion and head back the where we were, why don't you take Sir Olson and search around here?"

"Alright," Kay nodded. "Come along, Olson. We'll search the woods near the path."

Garrison and Arthur lead Bedivere and Calion back toward camp, going through the woods this time so as to cover new ground. Garrison watched the other two knights uneasily.

"Why would anyone take Merlin?" Arthur asked Garrison, throwing a quick glance at the two Knights behind them. "I don't like the fact that someone harmed him earlier in the trip or in Camelot though, he couldn't fight back against whoever took him. When I find out who did it you can be sure there will be very severe consequences."

"Indeed," Garrison said simply, frowning when he saw a scrap of red cloth on the ground. Stepping forward, his eyes widened. "Sire, is this not the boy's neckerchief he wears around?"

Arthur grabbed it from Garrison's hands and examined it. After a moment he nodded and triumphantly: "They came this way! There are two sets of footprints heading that way. Let's go!"

"Sire look," Garrison spoke up. "There are more tracks in that direction, heading toward the border. About ten sets, I'd say. And look, it seems as if someone was dragged for a bit..."

"That must have been Merlin," Arthur knelt down to examine the footprints. "Strange, these two sets from before head back that way." He pointed toward the other camp.

"So, it seems two people took Merlin from our camp and met with another group?" Garrison frowned. "Perhaps we should inform Sir Kay that we should follow these tracks? It seems the way which Merlin was taken. We must hurry before they cross the border."

Arthur nodded and turned to Bedivere. "Go and get Sir Kay, bring him back here as quick as you can."

"Y-yes sire," Bedivere said, before he turned and ran back the way Kay and Olson had gone.

Garrison eyed Calion, who was glaring after Bedivere almost maliciously.

"Is there something on your mind, Sir?" Garrison asked Calion slowly.

"Yes, actually," Calion turned back, his face upset. "It's Bedivere. I fear that... I fear that he knows about what's happened to, er, Merlin."

Arthur spun around, "Tell me what you know."

"It's just... I saw him leave the camp last night. He was on guard duty, but I woke up as he left. I figure it was nothing, so I went back to sleep. But now I've noticed he's acting quite uneasy. What if he went away last night to do something to the... I mean your servant? I feel remorse that I must tell you this, but I cannot lie to my prince."

"Well I am glad to hear that," Arthur exchanged a look with Garrison, then nodded for the senior knight to follow him a bit further ahead. "What do you think?" He asked, once the two were out of Calion's hearing.

"I'm not sure, Sire. I might believe his story, yet... I don't know, something seems off, do you not sense it, Sire? We are missing something, I feel."

"There were two sets of foot prints," Arthur realized. "Bedivere may have had a hand in it but I don't think he was alone. Calion might be trying to pin blame on him alone to cover his own involvement."

"It seems plausible, however we have no hard proof of either of their involvements. I fear we must wait to hear Merlin's account before we can pin blame on either of them, assuredly," Garrison sighed. "And without Merlin, we cannot tell your father of their maltreatment of servants as again we have no proof.

"They knew that," Arthur said. "They know that without proof I can not do anything." He slumped slightly then straightened.

"Do you think Bedivere was acting more nervous than usual?" Arthur asked. "He seemed very nervous to me, enough so that I could probably talk with him and see if he would tell me something."

"I think so, yes Sire," Garrison nodded. "And here he is now."

Bedivere lead the other knights over, glancing nervously at Calion. When Calion smirked victoriously, Bedivere's heart plunged into his boots. Something had happened, something very bad had happened.

"Bedivere!" Arthur called, motioning for the younger knight to come over with him. "I want to speak with you."

"Yes Sire?" Bedivere's voice was nearly a squeak and he cleared his throat quickly. "What is it, Sire?"

"Relax," Arthur said. "I just wish to speak with you. Calion is saying you had something to do with Merlin disappearing last night."

"He... He said that?" Bedivere looked shocked. "But... But he... Sire, please understand, he and I... We noticed Merlin is a poor servant, and he wanted to help and make him a better servant and we did and... But he took it so far and I... Sire, I did not agree with last night but he... He said I couldn't tell and I didn't because I had my Knight's honor not to go against my fellow knight but I knew it was wrong but I didn't want to get him in trouble, Sire."

"Calion has had many warnings about hurting servants and taking his teaching too far," Arthur shook his head, a deep sigh escaping his lips. "And, as I recall, you were involved with the last one as well. I am glad to hear you did not go willingly to kidnap my servant but I do not understand what prompted you to wait this long to tell me. You could have told me last night or even this morning. Now, what happened last night?"

"We... I... Well... We um... We took Merlin into the woods but there were bandits and they threatened to do us harm, but they took him instead, and, I'm sorry Sire, but in fear of our own lives we allowed it to happen."

"Both of you allowed it or Calion allowed it?" Arthur asked, looking Bedivere in the eye.

"I... I cannot speak against a fellow knight, Sire, please," Bedivere gulped.

"It will not be counted against you," Arthur said. "A witness is what I need and right now you and Calion are the only ones and he has already lied to me."

"Sire, I know this sounds a cowardly thing to say but I fear what he would do to any of us should we incriminate him," Bedivere glanced at the ground. "He... Sire, he has bouts of anger and I have already said too much."

"I understand," Arthur said. "Thank you for your help Bedivere. Garrison will stay around you and Calion to make sure nothing happens."

"Thank you, Sire," Bedivere nodded. "The bandits who took him, they were headed in the direction of the footsteps. They are mercenaries, I believe. They seemed excited when we told them... When we told them who he was, and his position as your servant ."

"That is most helpful. They probably wanted to use him to make me come," Arthhr turned to Garrison. "What do you suggest?"

"You must stay safe, Sire, if this is true. I will lead Bedivere and Olson toward them, while perhaps you, Kay, and Calion follow as a backup should something happen to us. Kay should go last, as a last defense should you be captured, I believe."

"Once again you have a perfect plan, but why don't you take Calion. I will take Bedivere," Arthur told his senior knight. "That sounds good. Why don't you go brief the others?"

Garrison nodded and went to talk with the others, Arthur mentally preparing himself to find his clumsy, yet admittedly kind hearted servant.

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 **AN:** _Please review! Tell me what you think :)_


	5. Chapter 4

**AN:** _Here's the next chapter :) Enjoy! Keep in mind, Merlin was hit on the head, and that accounts for his strange behavior._

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Merlin's eyes were heavy. They were as leaden as his legs which could hardly keep up the pace. It seemed they'd been walking for a very long time when the finally arrived at a village and Merlin was lead into a small hut. A trap door in the floor opened up and he gulped.

"We're just staying for the day," the leader of the bandits explained. "Then we'll be heading across the border. This is the prince's servant, there's something wrong with his head. I don't know yet if the prince'll pay a ransom, but if not I've heard tell that a servant to the prince hears plenty of information which may be important to Alined,"

"That's good boss," one of the bandits piped up. "We get good money either way with that plan. But we had better hurry, why are we stopping for the day? We could just keep going."

"Because, you imbecile, they'll spot us in the daylight!" The leader of the bandits, Rechelied, spat. He shoved Merlin toward another man standing near the hole in the floor. "Can you hide him, Fretler?"

"Of course I can." Fretler answered, "I've hidden things before and always done a good job."

"Good. We'll be heading to the inn. We'll pick him up again tonight. Mind that you keep him quiet in case the prince thinks to search."

"Don't worry," Fretler smirked. "I have ways to keep him quiet." With that he took Merlin and dragged the boy toward the hiding place he had chosen, the cellar of the small store they were in at the moment.

He shoved Merlin in front of him as they walked, making the servant stumble and almost fall down the stairs.

"Don't fall," Fretler sneered. Then he pushed Merlin down the stairs and into the cellar.

"Here is where you will be staying for tonight," Fretler said. "You had better keep quiet though, in case that prince of yours comes looking for you."

"If the prince comes, I'll yell!" Merlin leaned heavily against the wall, trying to reach his magic and failing as his head throbbed. "Maybe I'll yell right now!"

"I will gag you," Fretler threatened. "If you know what is good for you, you won't make a sound."

"I... I am the prince's manservant," Merlin spoke loudly, not even sure what exactly he was saying. His head hurt and he'd twisted his ankle earlier and his magic was out of reach. He felt generally miserable and couldn't concentrate on anything with the room spinning like it was. "I... I'm his manservant so let me go!"

"Oh I know you are his manservant," the bandit sneered. "Why do you think we took you? He will pay to get you back and if he doesn't you can give information to Alined."

"I would never!" Merlin shouted, wincing as his voice seemed to echo. His knees felt weak and he dropped to them with a cry. "I'm loyal! No in'fmation fer no one! Let me go! I'm his servant!"

"And I don't care if you are," Fretler replied pulling out a gag. "Now shut up!" He tied it across Merlin's mouth.

"That should shut you up," he muttered.

Merlin's hands twisted in their bonds and he glared up at the man before he danced out of focus and Merlin had to shut his eyes against the vertigo.

"Keep still, and quiet," Fretler said threateningly. "If the prince finds us then you will be the one to get hurt first."

"Hmm fffmmm usss," Merlin growled through the gag, trying to get his point across as he leaned heavily against the wall. "Ylllssmm."

"Whatever," Fretler snapped. "I don't care what you said as long as you are quiet. I can and will knock you out of you make too much noise."

"Whammem," Merlin opened his eyes to glare before he shut them again. "Mmm hunnngy."

"I don't really care kid. I ain't givin' you anything."

"Wmm," Merlin pleaded, forcing his eyes open to stare at the man hopefully. "Whmm dmm oo wann. Mm hmm enn in a wll ong imm. Psss?"

"No," Fretler said harshly. "I don't have anything with me and that is for the boss to decide. So shut up!"

Merlin suddenly sniffled, wishing his head would stop pounding. He felt tears rush to his eyes and he wondered if Arthur would bother saving him. Probably not. He was a terrible servant and though Garrison had been a bit nice, he probably didn't care enough to search for a servant. This morning Merlin would have been sure someone would save him, but he'd quickly lost faith that the nobles had any good underneath all that armor. Merlin again tried to reach his magic, but his head pounded and he squeezed his eyes shut as tears began rolling down his cheeks. For one of the first times ever, he really felt helpless.

"Shut up kid," Fretler snapped.

Merlin swallowed hard and shut his eyes tighter, trying to keep the tears at bay, but instead he accidently let out a muffled sob and he rocked slightly, trying vainly to make himself stop. Stop! Stop, Merlin, he told himself. But still, he continued to sniffle and felt dampness on his cheeks.

Fretler walked over and quickly slapped Merlin. "I told you to stop, boy. Now be quiet."

Merlin gulped and tried to keep quiet. Tears still rolled steadily down his cheeks, but he bit his cheek and his sobs quieted down to nothing. Now there was only an occasional sniffle. He tucked his chin to his chest and tried to breath deeply, pulling his knees up so that he was a tiny, pathetic little ball.

Fretler seemed to be okay with whatever Merlin was doing as long as he was quiet and he quickly moved over toward the stairs where they had come down. He lifted the trapdoor for a second looking out into the small store. He stayed there for a while until suddenly he hurried over toward Merlin. "Someone is coming up the path, I can hear them. Stay quiet kid if you know what is good for you."

"Wmm smmm mm?" Merlin sniffled.

"Shut up!" Fretler said. "If you get us caught I will kill you."

Merlin stared at the man in shock before he quieted and returned to simply sniffling miserably. He forced even that to stop, though he couldn't wipe away the tears that were slowly stopping as he realized that no matter what he did, he was not going home, there was no changing that. Besides, what was home? Ealdor? He couldn't go there. Camelot? Sure Gaius seemed nice, but everyone else seemed cruel besides Gwen, that wasn't home. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, Merlin tried to convince himself. His tears dried up and he watched Fretler rush up the stairs.

Fretler walked into the main store area just in time to see his boss walk in.

"Hey boss," he smiled.

"Is he secure?" the bandit frowned.

"Of course. Had to hit him a few time to get him to quiet down but otherwise he was okay."

"Good, I had sent a man ahead and there was news waiting at the inn. Alined is interested in what kind of information the boy knows. He wants to know if he knows anything or not."

"I'm sure he knows plenty," Fretler said. "He is the prince's manservant after all."

"Well, let's see what he has to say. Where're you keeping this one? The cellar? Show me to him."

The two defended the stairs and when Merlin saw them, he shrank backwards and said something that sounded threatening into his gag.

"Oh be quiet," Fretler yelled. "Good for nothing servant. Can't do anything right; not even keep quiet."

"Take the gag off, we need to question him," the bandit sighed.

"Alright," Fretler ripped the gag off of Merlin roughly.

Merlin gasped for breath and glared at the two.

"Please just leave me alone," Merlin sobbed, trying to sound powerful but failing miserably. "Just go away! Leave me alone. What d'y'even wan'?"

"We need you to be able to get the money we want. Whether that is from your prince or from King Alined, I don't really care."

"Who's that?" Merlin murmured. "Arthur will come, maybe... Wait, what are you talking about, money? What do you want with me?"

"We need money, and you are a great way to get it."

"Me?" Merlin squeaked. "Is King Alined the one I've heard doesn't like Camelot? Why?"

"Cause you have information he might like." The leader said.

"Me? Information? About what?" Merlin shrank away.

"The prince, who else? And Camelot of course, you spend time around the prince, you know as much as he does."

"But... But, I... I don't know much and I won't tell anyone wha' I d'know," Merlin tried to jut his chin out.

"Oh yes you will," the bandit frowned. "You are going to tell them what they want to hear."

"What's that mean?" Merlin gulped. "Don't they wan'hear the truth?"

"Yeah and that is what you are going to tell them. Not the lies you give us."

"I'm not lying!" Merlin cried. "I know little and besides I'm lo'l!"

"You are lying. How can you be close the the prince and not know something?"

"I... Well..." Merlin suddenly realized something awful. What if he told them he knew nothing, and then they just got rid of him? What if with no use for him, they... He gulped to think about it, but these were cold hearted men, what if they killed him if he didn't know anything? "I... I know some things but I won't tell you right away, but I will but... Not now?"

"Oh you don't have to tell us, you tell them and they pay us for the time spent with you," the leader stated. "You had better be worth it boy."

"What d'ymean, time spent wi' me? You... You're giving me to Al'ned? Arthur'll come, he'll pay a ransom!"

"Oh I am sure he will. But that should give you some time with Alined first."

"When? But... He wants information, what if I don't tell him anything?"

"Maybe we will kill you," Fretler sneered. "Cause you didn't get us the money we needed."

Merlin blinked away tears of fear. He had nothing to tell! What would he do?

"When are we going?" He asked with a gulp.

"Tomorrow night," the leader said. "We rest here today. Wouldn't want your prince to recognize you."

"He's looking for me?" Merlin looked hopeful. "I mean, of course he is, but... I mean..."

"I am sure he is. He couldn't do anything without you could he?" The bandit leader chuckled.

"That's true," Merlin muttered. "Well, I won't tell you, but maybe I'll tell Alined. Now leave me alone, please, just go away! Wait, first... May I have some food, please, Sir?"

"No you may not," the leader said. "You will wait until we give you something, you will not ask us for anything."

"But... I'm hungry," Merlin muttered, closing his eyes against his blinding headache.

"That is not my problem," the bandit leader said. "You will wait, now keep quiet."

Merlin blinked up at the two nervously, unsure if he should be rebellious or not. He wasn't sure it'd be very smart at the moment, but his head hurt and he was in a surprisingly bad mood. It'd be so nice to just drop the act of a servant and he himself again.

"Hey, I'm the prince's servant and when I, uh, want food I generally get food even though I hardly eat but I want to now so give me food you big lug!" Merlin tried to shout, attempting to sound as much like Arthur as he could possibly manage. Almost immediately, however, Merlin could tell that the strategy had not been the best course of action.

Fretler stepped forward and quickly slapped Merlin as hard as he could.

"Shut up," he hissed, grabbing Merlin's jaw. "Do not speak to us like that."

"I...I..." Merlin tried to focus on whatever the man had said but he could do it so he just nodded. He then simply said, "Okay."

"As long as we are clearing that up," the leader said. "You may be a servant to the prince but here you will treat us with respect. You are ours now, and we expect you to be respectful otherwise you will find out how many ways my men can hurt you."

"They wouldn'do that," Merlin muttered, head dropping to his chest. "Not all th'knights'r mean."

Fretler looked confused for a moment before laughing. "He thinks we are the knights, must be some head injury he had. This makes it all the more fun."

"'S'not fun! 'S'mean," Merlin mumbled. "Stop being mean'r Garrison'll get you someday and me too. He's a good knight unlike you two, 'n he's gunna tell Arthur- I mean prince Arthur! Prince Arthur, I said it! Please, I said prince!"

"Be quiet," the leader snapped, then turned to Fretler. "Watch him while I go up and look around. And feel free to make him be quiet if he doesn't shut up."

"Yes sir," Fretler grinned. "It would be my pleasure."

"Wait, r'you gunna hurt me cause I said Arthur? Please don't, I said prince, didn' you hear this time?" Merlin muttered. "Didn'you hear me say prince?"

Fretler turned to him. "I am going to tell you this once, shut up. I suggest you listen."

Merlin blinked, watching as the man's face came in and out of focus, it made him feel sick to his stomach. Wait, the man had spoken, what'd he say? What if it was important? Merlin didn't know so he spoke up and asked, "Wait, what now?"

"I warned you," Fretler said before he turned to one of the other men who had come back with their leader.

A man stepped forward and quickly grabbed Merlin, pulling him upright.

Fretler stepped toward the two and punched Merlin. "I told you to be quiet. Now listen this time."

"Ow!" Merlin's voice was a high pitched whine as he struggled for breath and tried to keep his rolling stomach from protesting too much. "Stop it, tha's mean!"

"I warned you," Fretler almost rolled his eyes. This servant was more of a boy than he'd first thought. Mean? Why did the prince endure such a young servant? "Now keep quiet."

"Ummm... Yes... Sir. Yes Sir! Yes Sir, 'll keep quiet. Please don'be mean?"

"Stop talking," Fretler snapped. "I won't give you another chance."

"Yes Sir, I did stop talking," Merlin nodded in easy agreement.

Fretler growled and slapped Merlin once again.

"Stop talkin,." he ordered while the men around him smirked at the scene.

"I did!" Merlin began to suddenly start crying, "I did stop talking! I did, Sir! P'ase don' hurt me, I did stop talkin'!"

"No you haven't," Fretler said, moving closer to Merlin. "You haven't stopped talking so I will have to keep going until you stop." He slapped Merlin a couple more times then motioned for the man holding the boy to let him go.

Merlin dropped to the ground in a sobbing heap.

"I'm sorry!" Merlin cried. "I'm sorry Sir Knight! I'm sorry!"

Fretler grunted then turned to the other men. "Why hasn't the prince come looking for the boy yet? Pretty soon the boss is going to scrap the idea of letting the prince pay for him."

"I guess you could say it is the prince's fault that he is getting beaten?" One of the men laughed.

Fretler grinned. "That it is."

"What? No, Arthur wouldn't hurt me! No!" Merlin cried, his mind not quite processing what was being said but understanding that it was Arthur's fault, but it couldn't be!

"Oh but he would," Fretler said, smirking at the distress it was causing the boy. "He left you here. Now be quiet!"

"No he...he's coming for me! He'll save me! Please, he wouldn't, he's a prat but he wouldn't! Please, Sir, Arthur wouldn'hur' to me!" Merlin wiping at his tears but more took their place as he sobbed.

Fretler let waved for the other men to leave. Then, after they left, crouched down next to Merlin. "They all left you here, they left you here with me. And now, you are going to learn how to be quiet, no matter how long it takes."

"No," Merlin sobbed, not quite understanding but still feeling horror stricken. "No they wouldn't! They wouldn't... Arthur, please don't leave me... 'M scared..."

Fretler punched Merlin in the stomach. "I told you to be quiet."

Merlin gasped for breath as he cried, however as he curled into a tiny ball he stopped talking and instead simply sobbed softly, sniffling occasionally.

"Arthur, help," he mumbled before he resumed crying and sniffling. He hid his face in his crossed arms and pulled his legs to his chest.

Fretler looked at Merlin and frowned at the boy.

"Stop your whining," he snapped. "I don't want to hear it. Your prince isn't coming for you."

"Please just go'way," Merlin mumbled through his tears. "Please go away... Sir. Please let me be!"

"Oh I'm not going away anytime soon." Fretler said. "I'll be here for a long time, until you learn to do what I say."

"What do you want from me?" Merlin glared up at Fretler. Merlin reached for his magic, but the headache that had been retreating blasted away at him again and he gave up hoping for magic to work at the moment.

"I want you to listen to me and do as I say," Fretler said. "It is almost nightfall, and we will be leaving soon."

"Where're we going?" Merlin mumbled.

"To pay a visit to Alined." Fretler said.

"Why?" Merlin continued to question him, hoping to learn more about what would become of him.

"To let you give him information which he will pay us for."

"Oh yeah, and I... I can't tell you because I'm supposed to be loyal to Arthur," Merlin nodded slowly. "I remember. I'm not supposed to say anything, right?"

"You will talk to him," Fretler said.

"Yes Sir, I will talk to him, I just won't tell him about Arthur," Merlin smiled as if quite proud of himself, though his emotions were still shaky after his cry, and his smile faltered quite a bit. "But I will talk to him. I will do what you say Sir Knight. Please don't hurt me, I'll do what you say."

"You better tell him what he wants to know." Fretler snapped. "Or I won't be so kind to you when you get back."

"Back... Why would I come back?" Merlin frowned. "He would give me back?"

"He is paying us to talk with you." Fretler replied. "The longer he has you the more he has to pay."

"Wha.. What?" Merlin stared at the man in horror. "He... He's paying? That's... That's horrible! Why? Why would he do that?"

"Because the boss told him to," Fretler snapped. "He really need information on Camelot."

"But I won't even tell him anything!" Merlin cried. "Why're y'traitor?"

"You had better tell him what he needs." Fretler said. "The boss will not be happy if you do not give any information."

"I want to go home," Merlin pressed his face into his arms. "I jus' wan'g'home."

"You aren't going home unless that prince of yours shows up," Fretler smirked. "And it doesn't look like that is happening so you had better get used to telling people about Camelot."

With that Fretler ascended the stairs leaving Merlin in a pitch black room with only his own quiet sobs to provide some sort of noise in the seemingly endless space.

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 **AN:** _Okay, please review. There's probably about two chapters left :) Next chapter is the rescue!_


	6. Chapter 5

**AN:** _Okay, so this went an inexcusable amount of time without an update, but truth is I thought I'd already updated this part... Oops. And I hadn't written the last chapter. Well, here's this one, and I'm hoping the last chapter won't take this long. I hope you all enjoy. Thank you all so much for the support on this story. Forgive my lateness please!_

 _Enjoy_ _:)_

By the way, I recently joined a Merlin role play kinda based off a 'Clue' board game idea.

 **It can be found by placing this link: myforums/HoRnIe-DeMoN/3874452/ after the usual fan fiction .net link.** It is basically all the Merlin characters in a early 20th century 'Sherlock Holmes' era. Uther was murdered, so the role play is a 'who done it'. You play as one of the Merlin characters, trying to figure out who is responsible, but everyone is a suspect. It'd be really cool if some of you joined up! It'll be fun :)

* * *

Arthur, Kay and Bedivere pushed through the brush as they followed Garrison, Calion and Olson.

"Fall back a bit Kay," Arthur told the knight. "We need you to be the rear defense."

Kay nodded and stopped for a minute before Arthur heard him resuming his trek behind them.

"I hope we find that idiot soon," Arthur muttered under his breath.

"I do as well, my prince," Bedivere nodded. "I regret that this has occurred. I think we should find him soon though, don't you? What with these tracks and all."

"Yes, I'm am worried they will hurt him," Arthur said wetly, new realization in his voice. "I wish this had not happened. He can not defend himself."

"He is small," Bedivere admitted. "But surely he has some hidden knife or something?"

"He doesn't have any weapons on him," Arthur said, shaking his head. "He didn't know how to use them so he didn't carry them."

"Oh, I see," the knight nodded slowly. "Here comes a village. Do we suppose we should search here, Sire?"

"We should check, although it seems too small to have anywhere to hide," Arthur replied, glancing around with a crinkled nose. "You go around that way and I will circle around and meet you." He walked toward the west side of the village, leaving Bedivere to search.

Bedivere slowly entered a small shop, smiling at the apparent owner to glared at him.

"Can I help your, sir?" The owner's voice was sugary though it somehow made Believer's spine tingle.

"I was just wondering if you've seen a group travel through here with a boy? He's... Uh... My younger brother and I'm worried about him," Bedivere was suddenly very glad that he'd removed his Camelot insignia for some reason.

"Your younger brother?" The man glanced at Bedivere suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. He went missing and I don't know what has become of him. My and... Uh, my mother are very concerned. He's rather skinny and about yeigh high? He's got brown hair," Bedivere did his best to describe Merlin.

"I haven't seen him," the store owner said but Bedivere noticed his eyes flicker toward the side of the store and made a note of it.

"Oh, well that's too bad. Please, I think I will be in town, let me know if you see him, please? Our mother is so frightened, we must find him."

"I will be sure to let you know. Good luck?" The storekeeper turned back to whatever he was doing.

Bedivere turned and hurried out of the store to find Arthur. When he did he relayed the story that he'd given the shopkeeper and then told of the shop keeper's reaction.

"He is hiding something," Arthur spoke quietly. "Let's go back, I can have them let me search the store and if they do have Merlin then they will be more likely to talk to me."

"Well, of course Sire, but uh... Well... Won't he want to hide the fact he has Merlin? Won't he not want us searching?"

"I want my servant back and I am the prince. He will let me search or by law I may put him in the dungeons! He will listen to a royal or be taught a lesson!" Arthur declared. "Let's go!" He turned and started to make his way over in the direction Bedivere had come from.

The two soon arrived at the store and Arthur burst in, glaring at the store owner harshly.

"This man has given me reason to believe you have a prisoner. I am the prince of Camelot and I demand you let me check your store, now!"

"Are you?" The man stared at Arthur predatorily. "The prince of Camelot?"

"Yes I am," Arthur said. "Now let me search your store!"

"Wait a minute!" The storekeeper protested. "Let me go get my boss, you can't just demand that!"

"Fine," Arthur said. "But hurry."

"Sire, I have a bad feeling about this..." Bedivere said quietly.

"Let him," Arthur murmured. "If it is the bandits then they will have Merlin. Go and look around as if you are looking at supplies. Listen and look for any clues."

"But what if it is a trap, Sire?" Bedivere gulped. "But... I will look Sire. It's just... I'm sorry for questioning you Sire, I will look now."

Bedivere found nothing in most of the shop but when he lifted a rug he found a trap door and he called Arthur over.

"Ah," Arthur looked down at the hidden door. "Good work Bedivere."

Just then they heard the noises of the two men returning.

"Go and look," Arthur said quickly. "I will talk to the men. They will tell me where my servant is." He turned and walked toward the front of the shop.

"Wait, I should not leave you Sire!" Bedivere protested weakly.

Arthur paid no attention but continued to walk to the front of the store.

Bedivere hesitated before he decided he should not disobey his king so he let himself into the cellar and the sight made him stop in his tracks.

Merlin was curled in a ball in the corner, shivering and sobbing quietly.

"Servant?" He asked, but he got no response.

He walked over toward the boy and knelt down in front of him, reaching out gently to tap the ground in front of him.

"Merlin!" He called a bit louder, hoping the tapping would graph the servant's attention.

Merlin glanced up before he tried to scramble away in obvious terror, though the wall stopped him.

"No, please! Please, Sir, I haven't eaten anything and I haven't talked back! Please leave me alone! Please!"

Bedivere frowned, surprised at this reaction, then reached out one again. "I am not here to harm you, I am here to help you. Prince Arthur is here and he is looking for you."

"I haven't talked back to him! I haven't! Why would he look for me? I don't even need to be his servant. Just please, leave me alone!" Merlin was now crying, pressing himself against the wall and shaking his head.

"I know I have given you no reason to trust me, but I promise you that Arthur is here for you," Bedivere said, then hesitated. "If it helps, and I know it probably won't, I am sorry for what we did for you. We went too far."

"I understand, Sir, I do, really I do!" Merlin agreed quickly. He tried again to reach for his magic and his headache increased so quickly that he cried out in pain. He tried to concentrate but the world kept hopping out of focus. "I won't eat for a week if you bring me home just please, I want to go home! I wish to go to Gaius. I won't eat at all if you let me go to Gaius!"

Bedivere shook his head. "You don't have to promise anything. I will make sure you make it home. And you can eat, I don't care if you do. But I wish you would."

"I... I don't have to be hungry," Merlin said, not quite understanding what the knight had told him. "I can be not hungry?"

"No, you can be hungry," Bedivere pulled a biscuit out of his pocket. "Here you go. Eat it!"

Tentatively, Merlin reached out for the food. He hesitated before snatching it and devouring it in seconds, glaring uneasily at Bedivere.

"Good job," Bedivere said softly. "Thank you. I'm sorry I don't have more. Arthur should be able to get you more food in a bit."

"Arthur?" Merlin asked hopefully before dropping his head in apparent shame. "No, he's not here, I'm just a servant. He hates me. He wouldn't be here."

"He is here, I promise," Bedivere said softly. "We came to rescue you."

"Why?" Merlin asked earnestly.

"I... I don't know." Bedivere shrugged. "He was worried though."

"Oh..." Merlin nodded. "What was happening upstairs? Why did it stop? Why... You don't seem like you hate me anymore..."

"I... No, I don't. I'm sorry if we hurt you really badly. We went too far, I didn't mean for it to go that far."

"You... You wanted to _train_ me?" Merlin spat out the word like it had a bad taste. "Why? You aren't even my masters, Prince Arthur is."

"Calion... I... We... I don't know, I just kind of did it and followed Calion. And I didn't know how close you and the prince were. I thought you were just a servant."

"I am, apparently," Merlin glanced away, his voice almost angry. "Isn't tha'right?"

"Oh... um, I don't think you are. Arthur came after you. He obviously cares about you," Bedivere said slowly when he noticed Merlin beginning to slur his words.

"Yeah well..." Merlin trailed off when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He looked up, and his breath caught. His captors, the bandits, they were in the room. Instinctively Merlin cringed backwards.

Bedivere stood up and turned around, reaching for his sword.

"Don't touch him," Bedivere spat, waving his sword..

"He is no longer under your care, knight of Camelot. We have your prince captive above. Come, you will both join him," one bandit strided forward. "And you will drop your sword this instant."

Bedivere hesitated for a moment before he shook his head. "No, I won't let you hurt him."

"There are more of them than just you," Merlin was quiet. "What choice'sthe'?"

"No, Merlin. I won't let them hurt you," Bedivere frowned.

"That, knight, is an ignorant move," the bandit snapped. He and his fellow bandits rushed forward, yet Bedivere fought them valiantly, Merlin sitting behind him in shock. Was this knight really defending him? Soon the only people awake or alive in the room were Merlin and Bedivere. Merlin was shocked, but a shout from above pulled him from his stupor, and Bedivere helped Merlin up before they hurried upstairs to see that the weapons had been taken from both Kay and Arthur, who were snarling and backed into a corner while about eight bandits filled the room.

Bedivere stood for a second before shouting at the bandits. "What do you think you are doing? He asked holding up his sword. "Step away from the prince!"

They turned, before quickly noticing that Bedivere had a sword. They abandoned the weaponless prince in favour of attacking Bedivere. Arthur and Kay quickly joined in the fight and it was over almost before it began, save one lone bandit who leaped at the defenceless Merlin. Immediately, Bedivere threw himself in front of the servant and there was a sickening sound before both Bedivere and bandit fell to their knees, injured by each other.

Merlin stood in shock before he let out a cry and dropped down beside the knight, tears burning at the back of his eyes.

Bedivere looked up at Merlin, pain in his eyes. "Are you okay?" the knight asked.

"I... I'm fine..." Merlin stammered. Arthur and Kay ran over moments later, starring in shock at what had occurred.

"Good," Bedivere coughed. "I'm glad you are okay."

"Sir Bedivere!" Arthur suddenly exclaimed, his tone more shocked than anything else. "What... What have you done?!"

"I..." Bedivere coughed. "I couldn't let Merlin get hurt any more..."

"But... You... You're a knight? You're the one who hurt him in the first place!"

"Sire," Kay interrupted. "Sir Bedivere needs medical attention. We need to find a healer, and quickly. Merlin, I realize you are also injured but would you be able to do that?"

"I... I need supplies or something... bandages," Merlin said quietly.

"Sire… I think he has a concussion, look at his pupils…" Kay frowned.

"Look, if he's got medical knowledge, let him try to treat Bedivere," Arthur whispered back. "Bedivere needs to be helped."

"Over here, here's some cloths. This man seems to be a merchant... Perhaps he has something..." Kay checked the shelves and then procured some gauze. "Here, Merlin. I will assist you."

Merlin and Kay quickly went to work while Arthur simply stared as if dazed by what had occurred.

"Why?" He suddenly blurted out as if to no one in particular. "Why hurt him and then sacrifice himself? Why?"

"He... You don't seem to mind the way he acts," Bedivere answered shakily. "We thought you wouldn't like his attitude..."

"I don't, but... But it's how he is. I gave up on changing him..." Arthur swallowed, looking away from Bedivere. "Will he be alright, Merlin? Kay? Do you know what you're doing?"

"We're am doing the best we can Sire," Kay snapped.

"Be quiet an' let's work and he'as better chance." Merlin slurred before he looked down quickly at Bedivere and stammered, "Wait, no 'm'sorry."

"I... It's alright.. Merlin..." Bedivere laid his head back and panted softly. "Thank you."

"He's Gaius's ward," Kay said softly. "I don't know if you're aware, Sire."

"I know that!" Arthur said.

"He should know what he's doing, Sire. But it looks to me that he desperately needs a healer as well. Merlin, lean against the wall here. Keep your head elevated," Kay demanded. "I will attempt to find the others, and I'll just leave you here."

"You rest," Merlin told Bedivere softly, closing his own eyes. "Just rest."

"You as well... Merlin," Bedivere murmured. "Y'need it."

Arthur stared at both knight and servant who were rapidly losing life before his very eyes and he wondered desperately if he should be doing something productive and what that productive thing would be exactly. Never before had he felt so helpless or clueless.

"Merlin!" He snapped. "Even I know you shouldn't fall asleep, wake up!"

Merlin's eyes slowly blinked open and he tried to sit up, which only made him groan loudly. He suddenly recoiled when the door banged open and Sir Calion and the other knight suddenly burst open.

"I's… The kni…. Hurt… Stay away from Bedi… Stop! Don' hu' th'p'ince!"

"It's alright Merlin," Garrison said as he knelt down next to the servant. "Was this who attacked you?"

"He… He came an'… Hurt! St.. Stay back!" Merlin reached for his magic, but instead he slumped, panting raggedly.

"He won't hurt you Merlin," Arthur spoke up. "I won't let him."

"I never did anything, Sire!" Calion spoke up quickly. "The servant is clearly delusional."

"No, m'not! He… He hu't'd me an'... An…" Merlin began to slump forward, again starting to fall unconscious.

Arthur reached out and caught the falling servant, "Merlin!" He yelped. "Don't fall asleep, please, you know that it isn't good for you."

"We need to get both Merlin and Sir Bedivere back to Camelot," Garrison spoke up. "Sir Olson, restrain Sir Calion, please. Sire, can you carry Merlin to a horse? I will carry Bedivere. Sir Calion, if you will agree to go with us then restraint will not be necessary."

"I have done nothing wrong!" Calion yelped. "Since when do you take the word of a servant over that of a knight."

"He is clearly injured and frightened of you!" Arthur lunged forward. "How dare you lie to royalty! How dare you lie to my face!"

"Calm down my prince," Garrison placed an arm across Arthur's path. "We will take him away, tend to the young servant."

"Restrain him," Arthur spat at Olson. He then stepped forward and gently cradled Merlin in his arms, stamping out the door to find the horses. Garrison stared after him, and then nodded to Olson to do as he was told and he picked up Bedivere and followed after the prince.

* * *

 **AN:** _Please review! Probably one chapter left. And remember to check out the mystery role play!_ It can be found by placing this link: myforums/HoRnIe-DeMoN/3874452/ after the usual fan fiction .net link.


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